Loading and unloading lift for truck bodies



Jan. 2, 1951 as. PATTON 2,536,030

LOADING AND UNLOADING LIFT FOR TRUCK BODIES Filed Jan. 4, 1949 '2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. 54a; 8. P4 rro/v,

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E. s. PATTON LOADING AND UNLOADING LIFT FOR TRUCK BODIES Filed Jan. 4,1949' Jan. 2, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

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Patented Jan. 2, 1951 LOADING Ann; UNLOADING. LIFT FQR TRUCK Booms EarlPatton, Salem, Oreg. Application January 4, 1949, Serial No. 69,173

This invention relates toloading and unloading lifts for truck bodies,and more particularly toa combined loading lift and gatemechanism.

Itis frequently necessary tojmove heavy objects into or out of a truckbody at a location Where no loading platformlis available. With theordinary truck construction this. requires heavy manual. lifting, anexcessive amount of time and labor. and presentsa hazard of personalinjury or damage t6 the article. being loaded or unloaded.

It is among the objects of thepresent invention to provide a loading andunloading lift mechanism, which can be manually dperated by a singleoperator to lift heavy objects from the ground to the level ofthetruckbodyfloor or to lower such objects from the body floor level to theground, whichlift mechanism is simple. andlrugged in construction, canbe. applied to afconventionalltruck body without materialmodificationlof thefb'ody structure, is firmly guided inits liftingandflower ing movementsso that it is not necessary to have th truck bodyfloor substantially level for operation of the mechanism,. v ihichl canbe operated from either inside or outside the truck body} and whichincludes a lift platform which canlalso be used as agate toclose aloading. and unloading opening in a truck body.

Other objects and. advantages will. become apparent from a considerationor thefl1owihg1de scription and appended. claims. in. conjuntion withthe accompanying drawingawhereiml" Figure 1 is a side elevationofafragmentary rear portion. of a truck body with loading and unloadingmechanism illustrative of thelinven tion applied to the body;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the fragmentary rear portion of thetruekbody and. lift. mechanism illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 isa transverse cross-section on an enlarged scale takenontheline 3-3 oflFigure 2; Figure l is a transverse cross-section. on anenlarged scale of. a fragmentaryportion of the truck body andliftmechanism taken. on the. line i-dlbf- Figure 2;

Figure 5 is. a longitudinal cross-section of a fragmentery portion oi'the. truck body an d lift meol'ianiszn taken onfthe line 5.-5IfofFigure 3; Figure 8 isan encllelevationof'a fragmentary portion of thelift mechanism;

Figure i isa top plan view of a fragmentary 2 Claims. (01. 214- 251showing a somewhat modified form of lift mechanism wherein the liftplatform is pivotally mounted for use asa tail gateto close the lowerpart of the rear opening of the truck body; and

Figure 9 is a sideelevation similar to Figure 8, showing th liftmechanism in closing position.

With continued reference to the drawingsthe numeral It indicates aconventional truck body, having an opening such as a rear opening forreceiving and discharging cargo. This body has a floor l i, mounted onlongitudinal frame beams 12, supported on the truck chassis frame l3,which is in turnsupported on conventional rear wheels it by conventionalspring suspensions l5.

A pair of guideways 15 are secured to the rear end of the truck body anddisposed, one guideway at each side of the rear body opening insubstantially vertical position. Each of these guideways comprises ametal tube of rectangular crosssectional shape; having alongitudinally-extending medial slot in its rearwardly directed side,when the guideway is operatively mounted on the truckbody. .Theseguideways have their bottom ends disposed above the floor level of thetruck body and extend upwardly a sufficient distance to provide firm andpositive guideways for the lift mechanism, so that it is not necessaryto have the floor of the truck body substantially level when using thelift mechanism. Respective guides ll, in the form ofstraight, elongatedrods of rectangular cross-section, are slidable in the guideways it,between a position, as illustrated in full. lines in Figure 1, in whichtheir bottom ends are substantially on the ground at the rear of thetruck, and a position, as indicated in broken lines in Figure l, inwhichtheir bottom ends are substantially at the fioor level of the truckbody. Each of these guides has near its bottom end a rearwardlyinclined, short portion [8, and a rearwardly directed, substantiallyhorizontal portion l9 extending from the bottom endof the portion l3,and provided with spaced apertures for receiving rivets orlbolts. Anelongated, rectangular platform 29 is secured at its ends to the rear-Wardly extending portion 59 of the guide ll by suitablebolts or rivets 25' extending through the rearwardly directed portions IQ of the guidesand through the platform near the opposite ends of the latter.

The platform 2i has a length substantially equal to the Width of therear opening of the truck body and a width substantially the same asthat of a conventional truck body tail gate, and may be used as a tailgate for closing the lower" portion of the rear body opening, ifdesired. This platform may be of any desired con struction and, asillustrated, comprise an outer flat plate 22 which may be either metalor wood, with a frame on the upper or inner side of the plate 22 andpreferably an inner plate covering the frame.

Angle irons 23 are attached to the platform, one angle iron adjacenteach rearwardly-extending guide portion 59, and each angle ironproviding an upstanding leg near the inner edge of the correspondingguide portion it). The angle irons are secured to the platform bysuitable rivets or bolts similar to the rivets or bolts 25. A pair ofcable sheaves E i are journalled on the upstanding leg of each angleiron 25 and disposed one sheave near each end of such leg, that is, onesheave near the rear and one near the front corner of the platform ateach end of the latter.

A pair of brackets 25 are secured to the truck body at the inner sidesof the body side Walls above the lower level of the body and projectrearwardly from the body substantially parallel to the floor ll. Each ofthese brackets is in the form of a beam composed of two spaced-apartmetal bars of rectangular cross-sectional shape and extend rearwardly ofthe body a distance substantially equal to the width of the platform 2d,and inwardly of the truck body a distance slightly less than thedistance to which they extend rearwardly of the body. Two pair of cablesheaves 26 and 27 are disposed between the two bars of each bracket 25and journalled on the bars for rotation about axes extendingtransversely of the bracket and disposed substantially parallel to thefloor it. lower end e ch bracket 25 near the outer or rearward end ofthe bracket and at its upper end to the corresponding guideway it nearthe top end of the latter to support the rearwardly projecting,cantilever portions of the brackets. Each brace 28 may be in the form ofa rod, as illustrated in Figure l, or may be provided as a chain orflexible cable, as illustrated in Figure 8, and indicated at 29.

An inverted, U-shaped bracket 56 is secured to the truck body and belowthe door level of the body and near the rear end at one side of thebody, and a cable winding drum 3i is journalled in the bracket 33 by adrum shaft 32, which extends through the opposite legs of the bracketand is journalled therein. A three-legged bracket 33 is secured to thetruck body at the side of the latter opposite the bracket 33 below thefloor level and near the rear end of he body, and a pair of spaced-apartcable sheaves 3 are rotatably supported by this bracket through theintermediacy of an axle pin or shaft 35 extending through cylindricaleyes of the bracket and through the two cable sheaves.

A flexible cable 35 is carried near its mid-1ength location under thetwo cable sheaves 2d journalled on the platform near that end of theplatform corresponding to the side of the truck body at which thebracket is mounted. The two end portions of this cable are carried overthe two sheaves 25 of the pair of sheaves journalled in the bracket 25to the rear of the truck body and then carried over the two sheaves 2?of the pair journalled in the bracket inwardly of the truck body, arethen carried under the two guide sheaves 3 and carried transversely ofthe truck body under the floor it to the cable drum 3|, and the ends ofthe cable are attached to the cable drum so that "he cable will be woundupon and unwound off of the drum upon rotation A respective brace 23 isconnected at its of the drum in the appropriate direction. A secondcable 3'! is carried under the two sheaves 24 journalled on the platformas near the end of the platform corresponding to the side of the truckbody upon which the cable drum 3| is journalled. The two end portions ofthis cable 37 are carried over the two sheaves 26, journailed in therearwardly extending portion of the corresponding bracket 25 and thenover the two sheaves Zl journalled in the portion of such bracket withinthe truck body and carried downwardly to the cable drum 3! where the twoends of the cable are attached to the drum to be wound onto and woundoff of the drum upon rotation of the drum.

When the two cables are wound onto the cable drum 3i, the platform 25 israised, the guide I! sliding upwardly in the guideways l6, and when thecables are wound oif of the drum, the platform is lowered from therearwardly extending portions of the brackets 25, the guide ill slidingdownwardly in the guideways it.

A worm gear 38 is secured on one end of the cable drum shaft 32, and aworm shaft 39 is journalled in the legs of an inverted, U-shaped bracketti) secured to the under surface of the body floor with its worm A l inmeshing relationship with the worm gear 33. The worm shaft 39 isdisposed substantially at right angles to the drum shaft 32 andtransversely of the truck body and this worm shaft extends at one endoutwardly of the adjacent side of the truck body and is provided on suchend with a squared or non-circular reduced portion ll, which isreceivable in a correspondingly shaped aperture provided in a crankhandle 32. The crank handle has two or more such apertures spaced apartlongitudinally thereof, so that different leverages can be provided forthe crank to raise or lower objects of different weight.

A chain sprocket 43 is secured on the worm shaft 39 and a secondsprocket 44 is secured on a shaft 35, journalled in the legs of aninverted, U-shaped bracket 46, secured to the inner side of the bodysidewall, immediately above the chain sprocket 43. A link chain "5'!drivingly connects the chain sprockets 43 and 4% and the shaft 45extends from the bracket 46 inwardly of the truck body and is providedat its inner end with a squared or non-circular reduced portion 48receivable in a correspondingl shaped aperture provided in a crankhandle Q9, which is similar in all respects to the crank handle s2. As amatter of fact, a single crank handle may be used for operating eitherthe sprocket shaft 28 or the worm shaft 39.

While normally operated means have been illustrated for raising andlowering the platform, it is to be understood that suitablpower-operated means may be used instead without, in any way, exceedingthe scope of this invention.

It is also to be understood that the lift mechanism may be assembledwith the truck body at either side as well as at the rear of the body.

In order to firmly support the brackets 25 in the truck body, shortsections of I-beam 5c are dis posed between the body floor and theportions of the brackets extending inwardly of the body and these I-beamsections are rigidly secured to the body floor by suitable means, suchas the bolts 5!, and are secured to the brackets by suitable meansincluding spacers 52 positioned between the two bars 53 and 54 of eachbracket. These spaces are secured to the I-beam sections by welding, orother suitable means, and to the bracket bars by through bolts 55.

In the bodied arrangement illustrated in Figures 8 and 9, each of thebrackets 25', corresponding to the brackets 25 of Figures 1 and 2, isprovided immediately to the rear of the truck body with a pivotal joint56, so that the rearwardly-extending portion of the bracket can swingupwardly about a substantially horizontal axis. As explained above, achain 29 is substituted for the brace rod 28 and each of the guides l1,corresponding to the guides H in the abovedescribed form of theinvention, is provided between its straight portion slidable in thecorresponding guideway i6 and the inclined portion [8' with a pivotaljoint 51, so that the platform 26 can also pivot upwardly at its rearedge about the common, substantially horizontal axis of the two jointsprovided in the two guides l6.

With this arrangement, after the cables have been wound on the drum 31to bring the platform up to the level of the body fioor I I, furtherrotation of the drum in the same direction will continue to wind in thecables and will swing the platform 49 and rearwardly extending portionsof the two brackets 25' upwardly about the axes of the pivotal joints 56and 51 until the platform is disposed in substantially verticalposition, extending above the rear end of the body floor I I, and acrossthe rear opening of the body from one side of the body to the other toprovide a tail gate for closing the lower portion of the body rearopening. When the platform is thus swung to a substantially verticalposition, it does not project rearwardly of the truck body to anymaterial extent and the truck upon which the body is mounted can then beused for long hauls over the highways with the platform in use as a tailgate, closing the lower portion of the rear opening of the body.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a truck body having an opening, loading andunloading lift mechanism for said body comprising two normally verticalguideways on said body and disposed, one guideway at each side of thebody opening, a guide slidable in each guideway, each of said guideshaving at its bottom end a portion extending outwardly of said body, anelongated platform secured near its opposite ends to the outwardlyextending portions of said guides, a pair of brackets extendingoutwardly from said truck body above the body floor level and disposedone bracket at each side of said body opening, spacedapart cable sheavesjournalled on each bracket, two pair of spaced-apart cable sheavesjournalled on said platform and disposed one pair of sheaves near eachend of said platform, a cable winding drum journalled on said body atone side of said opening, a pair of spaced-apart cable sheavesjournalled on said body at the opposite side of said opening from saidcable drum, a first cable carried under the cable sheaves at one end ofsaid platform, over the cable sheaves on the corresponding bracket,under the cable sheaves journailed on said truck body and secured at itsends to said cable drum, a second cable carried under the cable sheavesat the opposite end of said platform, over the cable sheaves on thecorresponding bracket and secured at its ends to said cable drum, a wormgear disposed at one end of said drum and drivingly connected thereto, aworm shaft journalled on said body and having a worm thereon in meshingrelationship with said worm gear, said worm shaft having acranknandle-receiving portion at one end, a chain sprocket on said wormshaft, a second chain sprocket journalled on said body above said wormshaft and within said body, a crank-handlereceiving portion connectedwith said last-mentioned chain sprocket, and a chain drivingly connectinsaid sprockets whereby said cable drum may be rotated by operation ofeither said worm shaft or said second chain sprocket.

2. Loading and unloading lift mechanism for a truck body having anopening comprising a pair of guideways attachable in substantiallyvertical disposed position to truck body, one guideway at each side ofthe body opening, a guide vertically slidable in each guideway, anelongated platform connected near its opposite ends to the bottom endsof said guides, a pair of shave-carrying brackets attachable to saidbody in substantially horizontal position above the body floor level atopposite sides of the body opening to project outwardly from said bodyabove the ends of said platform, cable sheaves journalled on saidsheave-carryingbrackets and on said platform near the opposite ends ofthe latter, a U-shaped bracket attachable to said truck body below oneof said sheave-carrying brackets, a cable drum journalled in saidU-shaped bracket, a bearing bracket attachable to the body below theother of said sheavecarrying brackets, cable sheaves journalled on saidbearing bracket, a first cable passed under the cable sheaves near oneend of said platform, over the cable sheaves journalled on thecorresponding sheave-carrying bracket, under the cable sheavesjournalled on said bearing bracket, and secured at its ends to saidcable drum, a second cable carried under the cable sheaves near theopposite end of said platform, over the cable sheaves on thecorresponding sheave-carrying bracket and secured at its ends to saidcable drum. and flexible braces connected between the outer ends of saidsheave-carrying brackets and the upper ends of the correspondingguideways, said sheave-carrying brackets and said guides having pivotaljoints therein for movement of said platform between a generallyhorizontal, loadcarrying position and a generally vertical position inWhlCh it closes the lower portion of the truck body opening,

EARL S. PATTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 717,701 Murphy Jan. 6, 19031,917,621 Weber July 11, 1933 2,110,239 Richter Mar. 8, 1938 2,158,596Swanson May 16, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 486,962 GreatBritain June 14, 1938

